1. Field
Described embodiments concern using shipment origin predictions to improve a customer shopping experience. In particular, described embodiments are directed to gathering and analyzing historical shipping data relating to online merchants for the purpose of predicting the origin location for shipments to customers by online merchants.
2. Description of the Related Art
Online shopping is a popular form of commerce, and customers often have many choices in selecting a merchant from which to buy a particular product. One factor important to customers in choosing a merchant is the transit time required to receive the product once the merchant gives it to the shipper. While some merchants offer customers an option to pay a premium in exchange for a guaranteed shipment time, e.g., overnight or second-day delivery, in the absence of this option the shipment time is largely influenced by the location from which the article is shipped and its destination.
For example, if a customer lives in Los Angeles, a shipment via standard ground delivery service from a warehouse in Las Vegas, Nev. may arrive in one day, while a shipment from a warehouse in Charlotte, N.C. to the same customer may take five days to arrive.